Carpinteria-based QAD and Indian outsourcing firm Tata Consultancy Services said this morning that the two companies have entered into a strategic partnership to push QAD's manufacturing solutions. The two companies are already working together to design and implement solutions at customers based on QAD's software. QAD's popular MFG/PRO software is used by companies to manage their manufacturing process. Tata will complement QAD's software with business consulting and IT infrastructure services, and will establish a "Center of Excellence" in Pune India for QAD-based solutions. Tata is India's biggest software company and one of the biggest three Indian IT outsourcing firms.